Age Sneaks Up On Me

A bonus to getting older is that I’ve had decades to road-test many fashion trends so that I already know, from experience, what works and what doesn’t.

Like I know, from experience, that peplum looks dumb on me. Ditto capri-length pants, which hits the biggest part of my calf adding pounds along with pounds of dowdy. Word to all ladies: I doubt you look good in anything that hits mid-calf. Unless you can make the look work with boots, abort.

Reebok Freestyle, circa 1980’s.

For most of my life, one category of shoes I’ve shunned is the sneaker. I’ve even refused to wear something more supportive and appropriate than canvas Converse Chuck Taylors to the gym. Those ubiquitous white trainers look like bathtubs on the feet and I just can’t go there, ever. Maybe it’s my flashbacks to the 80s when American women anchored their Ann Taylor power-suits with the Reebok Freestyle so they could comfortably commute to their white-collar jobs, changing into pumps at their desks. Think Melanie Griffith in Working Girl.

Isabel Marant SS13 “Bayley” hidden-wedge sneaker.

Three years ago I ditched driving and now walk everywhere. Comfort isn’t an option, it’s a necessity fueling my obsession with sneakers, first with Golden Goose and their distressed zipper high-tops, and then with the Isabel Marant hidden wedge trainer (The Beckett and Willow.) Just yesterday I emailed Jslow this image of the SS13 Isabel Marant Bayley, available on ebay before they’re available anywhere online. We are both drooling.

A small part of me ponders, “Am I too old to be running around in sneakers,” while the larger, wiser part of responds with a “Screw that.”

Sneakers are high fashion now, available in luxurious materials (fur, soft leathers), studs, wedges and rich colors for maximum style.

So don’t skulk towards aging in your old New Balance Crosstrainers. Skip towards the coming years in the most fantastic and funky kicks you can find, and leave those pumps under your desk.